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New classes wish list?
Since the kitchen cabinet design build class is winding down, I am polling for other classes you'd like to see me teach. In addition to wood working of all types, I am well versed in jewelry making (35 years as a master goldsmith), gemology, metal smithing of all types from the basics of forming simple shapes in ferrous and non-ferrous metals to forming complex compound shapes using hammers and sandbags, anvils, english wheel, power hammer and shrinker/stretcher. I do hotrod body repair and customizing in both metal and fiberglass, can teach building custom speaker enclosures etc. I do vinyl cutting for race cars and am well versed in using the Corel Draw! software suite. I can also teach pure design, both flat and solid, basic 2D CAD drawing for the various CAD CAM machines at techshop, and basic Google Sketchup 3D modeling.
If you have specific projects or general concepts you'd like to learn more about that are not being currently offered, please post them here.
Who's online
Online users
- evand
- jtrappe
- katmajic
I'd be interested in a class
I'd be interested in a class on fiberglassing.
Fiberglassing class?
I'd be interested in a class on fiberglassing.
OK! Can you give a little more specifics about this? Fiberglassing what? Anyone else interested in learning about fiberglassing?
Well, specifically I'm
Well, specifically I'm looking to modify some interior parts for my car (2007 Chrysler 300C). However, I also wouldn't mind having the skill in case I ever want to develop an elaborate Halloween costume or something.
Fiberglass may not be the
Fiberglass may not be the best choice for a holloween costume (expense and time involved for a one time use) or possibly even for the interior parts, I'm more than willing to discuss your applications with you in more detail and offer suggestions tho we should do it off line. Email the front desk to include your email addy and ask them to forward it to me.
(Chuck Frank)
Carbon fiber?
Sort along the same lines as fiberglassing, but how about a class on creating things using carbon fiber?
In general, composite
In general, composite techniques are much more about the technique than they are about the specific material. The same techniques you use for glass tend to apply to carbon or kevlar. Each material has it's own quirks, and it would be well worth discussing the differences in the class, but I strongly suspect the bulk of the class would be about layup techniques, not the material you choose.
I could put together and teach a class, but it would probably happen faster if someone else did it.
There are enough different techniques that one class shouldn't cover them all. There's hand layup, vacuum bagging (and several relatives such as shrink tape), and molding, to name a few.
How much equipment is needed depends strongly on the technique used. For simple hand layup with no heat curing, a well-ventilated work space and protective equipment is sufficient, but for other techniques we might need more.
Exactly right. Much of the
Exactly right.
Much of the work is in creating a mold or buck to form the layup in or over unless you are just doing a repair or are using a freeforming method such as commonly used to form automobile speaker enclosures.
Anyone interested in a class or classes on building a specific project in wood or metal or combo of both?
Building something specific (coffee table, lamp table, storage cabinet, bookcase, workbench etc.) is usually a better learning experience than just technique or single tool use based classes, and you can leave with an actual piece you built and can use.
composite techniques
I've got a carbon fiber project in mind, so I'd really like to see a course come together.
What would you think of trying a "working group" approach to figuring out a course? Evan, if we've got all the materials around, would you be willing to do a small scale project with a couple of interested learners? (I mean, wing it together as a small group over a couple of days, not for you to prep a mini version of a course.) Maybe out of doing that we could get an idea of what a useful course would look like?
I'd be happy to turn the notes from that kind of exercise into a Course Handout v 0.1.
It takes 2 students willing
It takes 2 students willing to register and pay for a class for it to be held.
If you have a project and at
If you have a project and at least 2 people willing to make a class (or workgroup) out of it, I am willing to teach it. Ask techShop to forward an email to me with your email addy so we can discuss the details of your project and how long a class would need to be.
Anyone else want a project or
Anyone else want a project or technique based class in almost any media except electronics or sewing?
Jewelry making
I'm still interested in your jewelry making offer from back in Feb.
I'll definitely do the
I'll definitely do the jewelry making class as soon as I wrap up the TS kitchen build.
Casting classes
Not really new classes, but I would like to see the casting class(es) offered. They all specifically mention aluminum, can we cast anything else? I'm specifically interested in casting replacement parts for vintage woodworking machinery, and cast iron would be the correct material for that.
Personally I have done a lot
Personally I have done a lot of investment (lost wax) casting of precious metals and a small amount of bronze and aluminum pour casting, but I've never cast iron or other high temp metals. I don't know what type melting furnace and protective gear would be required. In my experience if I needed such parts I'd make the patterns and pay a foundry to cast the parts from them.